Edwin  A,  Abbey,  R,  A. 


7jAe  American  \P^rt 
Salleries 

^adison  Square  South 
7few  2/ork 


EXHIBITION 


AT  THE 

AMERICAN  ART  GALLERIES 

MADISON  SQUARE  SOUTH 

OF  THE 

SECOND  HALF 

OF  THE 

Series  of  Paintings 

PRESENTING 

‘^The  Quest  of 

the  Holy  Grail” 

Done  for  the  decoration  of 

THE  PUBLIC  LIBRARY  OF  BOSTON 

BY 

EDWIN  A.  ABBEY,  R.A. 

Open  daily  g a.m.  to  6 p.m.y  from  Monday y December  gth 
to  Saturdayy  December  2 1 sty  inclusive 

AMERICAN  ART  ASSOCIATION,  Managers 
NEW  YORK 
1901 


Press  of  J.  J.  Little  & Ca 
Astor  Place,  New  York 


PREFATORY  NOTE 


story  of  the  Quest  of  the  Holy  Grail  has  been 
^ treated  by  poets  and  composers,  but  the  pres- 
ent undertaking  is  perhaps  the  first  attempt  to  give  it 
continuous  pictorial  illustration.  Invited  to  cover, 
with  a series  of  designs  having  at  once  a romantic 
reference  and  a unity  of  theme,  the  walls  of  a large 
room  in  the  New  Public  Library  of  Boston,  Mr. 
Abbey  conceived  the  idea  of  unfolding,  in  a co- 
herent order,  several  of  the  features  of  one  of  the 
most  confused  and  mystical,  but  most  noble  and 
universal,  clusters  of  legend  that  have  come  down  to 
us  from  the  twilight  of  European  literature,  through 
the  medium,  in  England,  of  Walter  Mapes ; in  France, 
of  Chretien  de  Troyes ; and  in  Germany,  of  WoKraun, 
of  Eschenbach  ; all  twelfth  century  writers.  The 
artistic  question  became  for  Mr.  Abbey  largely  a 
question  of  selection  and  adaptation — adaptation,  in 
particular,  to  conditions  of  space  and  architectural 
form  in  the  particular  chamber  to  be  decorated.  Cer- 
tain simplifications  and  compressions  were  inevitable, 
such  as  in  the  present  series;  the  attribution  to  a 
single  hero  of  adventures  and  experiences  of  which, 
in  the  old  romances,  now  one  personage,  now 
another — Galahad,  Percival,  Lancelot,  Sir  Bors — be- 
comes the  wonderful  subject.  The  incarnation  of 
the  ideal  knighthood  in  the  group  here  exhibited  is 
that  stainless  Sir  Galahad,  with  whom — on  different 


3 


lines — a great  English  poet  has  touched  the  imagi- 
nation of  all  readers. 

The  Holy  Grail  was  fabled  to  be  the  sacred  vessel 
from  which  our  Lord  had  eaten  at  the  Last  Supper, 
and  into  which  (having  purchased  it  from  Pontius 
Pilate),  Joseph  of  Arimathea  had  gathered  the  divine 
blood  of  His  wounds.  Its  existence,  its  preserva- 
tion, its  miraculous  virtues  and  properties  were  a 
cherished  popular  belief  in  the  early  ages  of  Euro- 
pean Christianity;  and  in  the  folk- tales  from  which 
the  twelfth  century  narrators  drew  their  material,  it 
was  represented  as  guarded  for  ages  in  the  Castle  of 
the  Grail  by  the  descendants  of  the  ‘‘rich  man,”  to 
whom  the  body  of  Jesus  had  been  surrendered,  where 
it  awaited  the  coming  of  the  perfect  knight,  who 
alone  should  be  worthy  to  have  knowledge  of  it. 
This  perfect  knight  is  introduced  to  us  in  the 
romances  of  the  Arthurian  cycle,  so  largely  devoted 
to  the  adventures  of  the  various  candidates  for  this 
most  exalted  of  rewards.  Incomparable  were  the 
properties  of  the  Grail,  the  enjoyment  of  a revelation 
of  which  conveyed,  among  many  privileges,  the 
ability  to  live,  and  to  cause  others  to  live,  indefinitely 
without  food,  as  well  as  the  achievement  of  universal 
knowledge,  and  of  invulnerability  in  battle. 

This  revelation  was  the  proof  and  recompense  of 
the  highest  knightly  purity,  the  perfection  constitut- 
ing its  possessor  the  type  of  the  knightly  character ; 
so  that  the  highest  conceivable  emprise  for  the  com- 
panions of  the  Round  Table  was  to  attain  to  such  a 
consecration — to  cause  the  transcendent  vessel  to 
be  made  manifest  to  them. 


4 


PAINTINGS 
BY  E.  A.  ABBEY,  R.A. 


HE  first  five  of  this  Series,  viz.,  Nos.  i,  2,  3,  4,  and  5,  are 


already  fixed  in  their  places  in  the  New  Public  Library  at 
Boston,  and  those  now  exhibited  comprise  the  second  half  of 
the  Series,  viz,.  Nos.  6,  7,  8,  9,  10,  ii,  12,  13,  14,  and  15,  but 
in  the  present  Catalogue  the  entire  series  is  recorded  in 
order  to  give  to  the  spectator  the  complete  story  of  “ The 
Quest  of  the  Holy  Grail.”  Photographs  of  Nos.  i,  2,  3,  4, 
and  5 aie  here  exhibited. 


HE  child  Galahad,  the  descendant,  by  his 


mother,  of  Joseph  of  Arimathea,  is  visited, 
among  the  nuns  who  bring  him  up,  by  a dove 
bearing  a golden  censer  and  an  angel  carrying 
the  Grail,  the  presence  of  which  operates  as 
sustenance  to  the  infant.  From  the  hands  of 
the  holy  women,  in  the  legend,  the  predestined 
boy  passes  into  those  of  the  subtle  Gurnemanz, 
who  instructs  him  in  the  knowledge  of  the 
things  of  the  world,  and  in  the  duties  and  func- 
tions of  the  ideal  knight.  But  before  leaving 
the  nuns  he  has  performed  his  nightly  vigil — 
watched  alone,  till  dawn,  in  the  church. 


No.  I 


5 


No.  2 


This  ordeal  of  the  vigil  terminates  in  his 
departure.  Clothed  in  red,  he  is  girt  for 
going  forth,  while  the  nuns  bring  to  him  Sir 
Launcelot,  who  fastens  on  one  of  his  spurs, 
and  Sir  Bors,  who  attaches  the  other. 


No.  3 

The  Arthurian  Round  Table  and  the  curi- 
ous fable  of  the  Seat  Perilous  is  here 
dealt  with:  the  Seat  Perilous — “perilous  for 
good  and  ill  “ — in  which  no  man  has  yet  sat 
with  safety,  not  even  the  fashioner  himself,  but 
into  which,  standing  vacant  while  it  awaits 
only  a blameless  occupant,  the  young  Sir  Gala- 
had,  knighted  by  Arthur,  has  sworn  a vow  to 
be  worthy  to  take  his  place.  In  this  design  he 
comes  to  do  so.  The  Companions  of  the  Order 
are  seated  in  Arthur’s  hall,  and  every  chair,  save 
one,  is  filled.  Suddenly  the  doors  and  win- 
dows close  of  themselves,  the  place  becomes 
suffused  with  light,  and  Sir  Galahad,  robed  in 
red  (the  color  emblematic  of  purity),  is  led  in 
by  an  old  man  clothed  in  white,  Joseph  of 
Arimathea,  who,  according  to  one  of  the  most 
artless  features  of  the  romance,  has  subsisted 
for  centuries  by  the  possession  of  the  supreme 
relic.  The  young  knight  is  thus  installed  in 
6 


safety  in  the  Seat  Perilous,”  above  which  be- 
comes visible  the  legend,  “ This  is  the  seat  of 
Galahad.  ’ ’ 


HE  knights  are  here  seen  about  to  go 


forth  on  their  search  for  the  Holy  Grail, 
now  formally  instituted  by  King  Arthur.  They 
have  heard  Mass  and  are  receiving  the  epis- 
copal benediction,  Sir  Galahad  always  in  red. 
Although  throughout  this  series  he  is  the 
“ bright  boy-knight  " of  Tennyson,  he  is  not, 
as  that  poet  represents  him,  “ white-armored.’' 


MFORTAS,  the  Fisher  King,  King  of 


the  Grail,  as  the  legend  has  it — the  Roi 
Pecheur  of  Chretien  de  Troyes — having  been 
wounded  several  centuries  before  for  taking 
up  arms  in  the  cause  of  unlawful  love,  lies 
under  a spell,  with  all  the  inmates  of  the  Cas- 
tle of  the  Grail,  into  which  the  artist  here  in- 
troduces us.  They  are  spiritually  dead,  and 
although  the  Grail  often  appears  in  their  very 
midst,  they  cannot  see  it.  From  this  strange 
perpetuation  of  ineffectual  life  they  can  none 
of  them,  women  or  men,  priests,  or  soldiers, 
or  courtiers,  be  liberated  by  death  until  the 
most  blameless  knight  shall  at  last  arrive.  It 


No.  4 


No.  5 


7 


will  not  be  sufficient,  however,  that  he  simply 
penetrate  into  the  castle:  to  the  operation  of 
the  remedy  is  attached  that  condition  which 
recurs  so  often  in  primitive  romance,  the  ask- 
ing of  a question  on  which  everything  depends. 
Sir  Galahad  has  reached  his  goal,  but  at  the 
very  goal  his  single  slight  taint  of  imperfec- 
tion, begotten  of  the  too  worldly  teaching  of 
Gurnemanz,  defeats  his  beneficent  action.  Be- 
fore him  passes  the  procession  of  the  Grail, 
moving  between  the  great  fires  and  the  trance- 
smitten  king,  and  gazing  at  it  he  tries  to  arrive, 
in  his  mind,  at  an  interpretation  of  what  it 
means.  He  sees  the  bearer  of  the  Grail,  the 
damsel  with  the  Golden  Dish  (the  prototype 
of  whom  was  Herodias  bearing  the  head  of 
John  the  Baptist  on  a charger),  the  two  knights 
with  the  Seven-branched  Candlestick,  and  the 
knight  holding  aloft  the  Bleeding  Spear.  The 
duty  resting  upon  him  is  to  ask  what  these 
things  denote,  but,  with  the  presumption  of 
one,  who  supposes  himself  to  have  imbibed  all 
knowledge,  he  forbears,  considering  that  he 
is  competent  to  guess.  But  he  pays  for  his 
silence,  inasmuch  as  it  forfeits  for  him  the 
glory  of  redeeming  from  this  paralysis  of  cen- 
turies the  old  monarch  and  his  hollow-eyed 
Court,  forever  dying  and  never  dead,  whom  he 
leaves  folded  in  their  dreadful  doom.  On  his 
second  visit,  many  years  later,  he  is  better 
inspired. 


8 


THE  SECOND  HALF  OF 
THE  SERIES 

No.  6 

IT  is  the  morning  after  his  visit  to  the  Castle 
of  the  Grail.  Awakening  in  the  chamber 
to  which  he  had  been  led  the  previous  night, 
he  finds  the  castle  deserted.  Issuing  forth,  he 
sees  his  horse  saddled  and  the  drawbridge 
down.  Thinking  to  find  in  the  forest  the  in- 
mates of  the  castle,  he  rides  forth,  but  the 
drawbridge  closes  suddenly  behind  him;  a wail 
of  despair  follows  him,  and  voices  mock  him 
for  having  failed  to  ask  the  effectual  Question. 

He  fares  forward  and  presently  meets  three 
damsels;  the  first,  the  Loathly  Damsel,  is  rid- 
ing upon  a pale  mule  with  a golden  bridle. 
This  lady,  once  beautiful  in  form  and  features, 
is  now  noble  still  in  form,  but  hideous  in  fea- 
ture, and  she  wears  a red  cloak,  and  a hood 
about  her  head,  for  she  is  bald;  and  in  her 
arms  is  the  head  of  a dead  king,  encircled  with 
a gold  crown.  The  second  lady  is  riding  in 
the  manner  of  an  esquire;  the  third  is  on  her 
feet,  dressed  as  a stripling,  and  in  her  hand  is 


9 


a scourge  with  which  she  drives  the  two  riders. 
These  damsels  are  under  the  spell  of  the  Grail 
Castle.  Against  her  will,  a magic  power  is 
used  by  the  Loathly  Damsel  to  tempt  and  de- 
stroy knights  and  kings.  .She,  with  her  two 
companions,  must  continue  to  wander,  doing 
deeds  of  wickedness,  until  the  sinless  Virgin 
Knight  shall  come  to  the  Grail  Castle  and  ask 
concerning  the  wonders  he  sees-  there.  They 
now  assail  Sir  Galahad  with  reproaches, .cursing 
him  for  having  failed  on  the  previous  day  to 
ask  the  Question,  which  not  only  would  have 
delivered  them  and  the  inmates  of  the  castle, 
but  would  have  restored  peace  and  plenty  to 
the  land.  The  earth  now  must  remain  barren, 
and  Sir  Galahad,  wandering  forth  again,  is  fol- 
lowed by  the  curses  of  the  peasantry^  while 
war  rages  throughout  the  land.  He  must  en- 
counter many  adventures,  suffer  many  sor- 
rows, and  many  years  must  pass  before  he 
returns  once  more  to  the  Castle  of  the  Grail, 
where,  having  through  all  ordeals  remained 
sinless,  he  will  finally  ask  the  Question  which 
will  redeem  the  sin-stricken  land. 


No.  7 

SIR  GALAHAD  is  here  seen  arriving  at  the 
gate  of  the  “ Castle  of  the  Maidens,” 
where  the  seven  “ Knights  of  Darkness,”  the 
seven  ” Deadly  Sins,”  have  imprisoned  a great 


lO 


company  of  maidens,  “ The  Virtues,”  in  order 
to  keep  them  from  all  contact  with  man.  It 
is  Sir  Galahad’s  mission  to  overcome  Sin  and 
.redeem  the  world  by  setting  free  the  Virtues, 
now  held  captive  by  the  powers  of  evil,  and  he 
fights  the  seven  knights  and  overcomes  them. 

No.  8 

SIR;  GALAHAD  having  passea  the  outer 
gate  of  the  castle  is  here  encountering 
a monk,  who  blesses  him,  and  delivers  up  to 
him  the  keys  of  the  castle. 

No.  9 

SIR  GALAHAD’S  entry  into  the  castle  is 
here  shown.  The  imprisoned  maidens 
have  long  been  expecting  him,  for  it  had  been 
prophesied  that  the  perfect  knight  would  come 
to  deliver  them.  They  welcome  him  with  shy 
delight,  putting  out  their  hands  to  be  kissed. 
Having  accomplished  this  mission,  Sir  Galahad 
passes  on  to  other  deeds. 

No.  lo 

SIR  GALAHAD  has  become  wedded  to 
Blanchefleur,  but,  sacrificing  his  earthly 
love,  he  leaves  her  that  he  may  continue  the 


II 


Quest.  The  wounded  and  sin-stricken  Amfortas 
can  be  healed  only  by  a Virgin  Knight,  and  only 
a Virgin  Knight  may  achieve  the  Quest.  A 
new-born  knowledge  has  unsealed  Sir  Gala- 
had's eyes,  but  with  this  knowledge  is  begot- 
ten the  strength  to  overcome,  and,  renouncing, 
finally,  every  human  desire,  he  resumes  the 
Quest. 


No.  II 

Having  passed  through  many  adventures. 
Sir  Galahad  has  here  returned  to  the 
Castle  of  the  Grail.  The  procession  of  the 
Grail  has  once  more  passed  before  him,  and 
this  time,  grown  wise  by  knowledge  and  suffer- 
ing, he  asks  the  Question,  and  thereby  heals 
Amfortas,  cleanses  him  from  sin,  and  allows 
the  old  king  to  die.  The  Angel  bears  away 
the  Grail  from  the  castle,  and  it  is  not  seen 
again  until  the  day  when  Sir  Galahad  achieves 
the  Grail  at  Sarras.  Having  now  accomplished 
his  great  task,  the  spirit  of  the  Grail  guides 
him  towards  the  goal  which  shall  crown  his 
labors — the  achievement  of  the  Grail.  He  is 
directed  towards  the  sea,  to  Solomon's  Ship, 
which  will  bear  him  to  Sarras,  there  to  be 
crowned  king,  and  there  the  Grail  itself  will 
finally  appear  to  him. 


12 


No.  12 


SIR  GALAHAD,  borne  upon  a white 
charger,  is  seen  passing  from  the  land, 
where  peace  and  plenty  once  more  reign,  and 
followed  by  the  blessings  of  the  people. 


No.  13 

SIR  GALAHAD  is  here  in  Solomon’s  Ship, 
which  he  found  waiting  to  carry  him 
across  the  seas  to  Sarras.  The  Grail,  borne  by 
an  angel,  guides  the  ship.  Sir  Bors  and  Sir 
Percival  accompany  him,  for  although,  having 
sinned  once,  they  can  never  see  the  Grail  them- 
selves, yet,  having  persevered  faithfully  in  the 
Quest,  they  have  acquired  the  right  to  accom- 
pany Sir  Galahad  and  witness  his  achievement. 
Resting  upon  a cushion  in  the  stern  of  the  ship 
are  three  spindles  made  from  the  “ Tree  of 
Life  — ^one  snow-white,  one  green,  one  blood- 
red.  When  Eve  was  driven  from  the  Garden 
of  Eden,  she  carried  with  her  the  branch  she 
had  plucked  from  the  “ Tree  of  Life,”  and, 
having  planted  it,  the  branch  grew  to  be  a tree, 
with  branches  and  leaves  white,  in  token  that 
Eve  was  a virgin  when  she  planted  it.  When 
Cain  was  begotten,  the  tree  turned  green ; and 
afterwards,  when  Cain  slew  Abel,  the  tree 
turned  red. 


13 


No.  14 

THE  CITY  OF  SARRAS 

No.  15 

SIR  GALAHAD  is  now  King  of  Sarras, 
and  upon  a hill  he  makes  a Sacred  Place 
and  builds  a Golden  Tree.  Morning  and  even- 
ing he  repairs  thither,  and  from  day  to  day  he 
beautifies  the  tree,  and,  finally,  when  it  is  com- 
plete, Joseph  of  Arimathea  (with  a company 
of  angels)  appears  with  the  Grail.  As  Sir  Gal- 
ahad gazes  upon  it,  crown,  sceptre,  and  robe 
fall  from  him.  He  no  longer  needs  them.  He 
thanks  God  for  having  let  him  see  that  which 
tongue  may  not  describe,  nor  heart  think. 
Having  now  beheld  that  which  is  the  source  of 
all  life  and  knowledge  and  power,  his  spirit 
can  no  longer  remain  in  the  narrow  confines 
of  his  body.  The  Grail  itself  is  borne  heaven- 
ward, and  is  never  again  seen  on  this  earth. 

14 


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